Driver who escaped car plunge into Whitin Reservoir found nearby house through fog

Monday

Jan 6, 2014 at 4:54 PMJan 6, 2014 at 6:34 PM

By Linda Bock TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

DOUGLAS — Dan Dudley was watching television upstairs in his Wallis Street home about 9 Sunday night and thinking about getting ready for bed when he heard, "Help, help." At first, he said, he wasn't sure if it was the TV he was hearing.

Standing outside his door was Jeffrey W. Stanhope, a 21-year-old Douglas man who told Mr. Dudley that his car went off the causeway on Wallis Street and into the Whitin Reservoir. Mr. Stanhope was soaking wet and told Mr. Dudley he escaped the vehicle and swam to shore.

"He said he lost control of the car," Mr. Dudley said. "He told me he felt like he was down there a long time. He couldn't get the window open. He found a door latch that he was able to open. He was probably terrified until he found a way out."

Mr. Stanhope was driving a Subaru station wagon when he slid off the narrow causeway near the bridge on the causeway and plunged into the icy Whitin Reservoir.

Mr. Dudley said he believes that Mr. Stanhope may have found his way through the dense fog to his house because of the street light in front of his house — the only street light on Wallis Street — and his Christmas lights.

"Our Christmas angel really did her job last night," Mr. Dudley said, and pointed to a large angel on the second-floor deck. Because Jan. 6 is the Epiphany and the official end of the Christmas season, Mr. Dudley was busy taking down his Christmas lights in between rain and before the temperatures dropped back below freezing.

Mr. Dudley said this is the fourth time since 1987 that a vehicle has gone off the causeway into the reservoir. His parents owned the property for 50 years before they passed away, and he is very familiar with the roadway.

"Coming down the hill (from the north), there's a small curve to the right. If they're going too fast, they just go off into the water," he said.

Mr. Dudley said he did not know if icy conditions or other factors were the cause of the accident on Sunday night, "but what I know is people drive too fast in the area."

Mr. Dudley said the first thing he asked Mr. Stanhope was whether there were any people or pets in the car, and Mr. Stanhope told him there were not.

"I let him in downstairs, and he was soaking wet. He had a cut on his right hand, and I asked him if he had any broken bones," Mr. Dudley said. The young man told him he was OK. "The first thing I got for him was some dry clothes. I found some sweatpants, a sweatshirt, a pair of shoes, some towels, and a winter coat."

While Mr. Stanhope changed clothes, Mr. Dudley called 911.

"I was glad I was able to help him," Mr. Dudley said. By the time Mr. Dudley got Mr. Stanhope a large plastic trash bag for the wet clothes and shoes, firefighters, police and emergency medical personnel had arrived.

"His real worry was his parents," Mr. Dudley said. Mr. Dudley said that Mr. Stanhope told him that his phone was not working, and his parents were deaf. At their home in town this morning, Mr. Stanhope's parents asked for privacy for their son.

Mr. Stanhope was taken by ambulance to UMass Memorial Medical Center — University Campus in Worcester for treatment of mild hypothermia and lacerations. He was discharged Monday morning, according to a hospital official.

Chief Foley said Mr. Stanhope somehow managed to get out of the vehicle and make his way about a quarter-mile to get help.

The roads were slick in areas and the conditions were so foggy that police Officer Aaron McLaughlin, who was responding to the call, did not spot the vehicle in the water when he first arrived, according to Sgt. Gregory Gilbert. Officer McLaughlin went to Mr. Dudley's house at 160 Wallis St., while Sgt. Gilbert searched for the vehicle.

"I ended up walking the causeway and finding it in the water," Sgt. Gilbert said. Sgt. Gilbert, who is also on the emergency dive team, called for divers to respond.

"Officer McLaughlin spoke with the operator at the house, and he said he was the only one in the car," Sgt. Gilbert said. "I just wanted to make sure."

Fire Chief Kent F. Vinson said that sending in divers to double-check is protocol.

"I definitely have to hand it to the dive team," Sgt. Gilbert said. "They were there in a matter of minutes."

Mr. Stanhope's Subaru wagon dropped about 10 feet from the roadway into the water, and divers had to navigate down large boulders to get into the water. The area where the vehicle landed is where the large side of the reservoir connects with the small side, and there is moving water near the bridge, so the surface was not completely frozen.

Sgt. Gilbert said the rear passenger door of the vehicle was open when he got there.

Officers did not get a lot of information before the victim was taken to the hospital.

"It's just one of those things," Sgt. Gilbert said. "He's just incredibly lucky."

Contact Linda Bock at lbock@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @LindaBockTG

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